A cheating scandal among nuclear submarine officers has rocked the Navy. / Robert F. Bukaty, AP

by Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY

by Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY

There's courage in combat and a different kind required inside the Pentagon.

The military knows how to recognize bravery on the battlefield. It interviews witnesses and documents heroic feats and bestows medals. Does it do enough to honor those who challenge authority or blow the whistle on wrongdoing? As the military moves off more than a decade of war footing, the courage to challenge conventional thinking or confront colleagues cutting corners will become just as important. Maybe even more so.

Monday, a senior enlisted sailor at the Nuclear Power Training Unit at Charleston, S.C., informed his superiors about an offer to cheat on a written exam. The Navy launched an investigation, which was expected, given cheating that recently sidelined 92 Air Force officers overseeing the nation's nuclear missiles. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered a top-to-bottom review of the military's stewardship of its nukes.

The Navy scandal involves propulsion systems manned by sailors on ships and subs, not missiles or bombs. About 30 sailors charged with training nuclear crews have had their access to the Charleston training site revoked as the investigation continues.

Adm. Jonathan Greenert, the chief of naval operations, and Adm. John Richardson, the Navy's top officer for nuclear power, said they were focused on rooting out wrongdoing and fixing problems. That's appropriate, given the stakes involved, and the potential for an accident involving nuclear systems because of unqualified personnel.

Little was said about the sailor who exposed the alleged cheating. Richardson said, "It's hard for me to say right now what specifically motivated this sailor, but I think at the foundation he understands the importance of the value of integrity and made his report."

Rear Adm. John Kirby, spokesman for the Pentagon, said Wednesday that Hagel is concerned about ethics problems, including the latest in Charleston. Hagel views them as a growing problem, one whose depth isn't known, Kirby said.

"He's genuinely concerned that there could be at least at some level a breakdown in the behavior and in the demonstration of moral courage," Kirby said.

Kirby described that form of courage as doing the right thing when nobody's looking.

Or in the Charleston sailor's case, doing the right thing when others around you are not.